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Don't Call Me Kevie

Remember how I was saying last time that the cats have been bringing me animals??

A live baby duck is in my house.*

BABY. DUCK.

It is now hiding behind my tv cabinet. I've called friends; all were useless. I am going to try to the local WIRES branch and see if they can help.

How is this my life??

ETA: Half an hour later the duck has been caught. (I know I shouldn't name a wild animal, but he shall forever be known as Joe Duck Duck. Jonah D Duck when he's in proper society.) The WIRES rep should be here in half and hour to take him off my hands. For the moment he is in a beanie in a shoebox which is sitting on a hot water bottle.

*The boys didn't bring the duck in. He came in all by himself like he was a grown-up. Silly Duck.

WIRES is Australia Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service, which I think is the equivilent of animal control. They take care of injured native animal and birds (so, if something gets hit by a car, or a baby kangaroo/koala/emu/whatever is found, they take care of it until it can be released back into the wild).

I know the people of are the local contacts for WIRES, but they were out of town until 11pm last night. They came around once they got back to town and came and grabbed Joe off me. (See how I called him Joe again? This - and the fact I own cats - is why I could never join WIRES. Becoming attached to the animals is a bad thing. All wildlife goes back to the wild.

Between the Shingleback lizard of last year and now the duck I just wonder what else I'll find lounging around my living room one day.

WIRES sounds far more comprehensive than the US animal control. When I found that baby snake on my doorstep back in AZ, I called animal control and was told they didn't handle non-domestic animals so I would have to call one of the many private companies that specialized in snakes, spiders, etc..

Oh, could you email me your snail mail address again? I can't find it, and I have a few things I'd like to send you. :)

When I found that baby snake on my doorstep back in AZ, I called animal control and was told they didn't handle non-domestic animals so I would have to call one of the many private companies that specialized in snakes, spiders, etc..

Every summer WIRES (or someone like them) have a snake handling course so you know what to do/how to deal with/ who best to call/ how to pick one up without being killed. They hold it every year at work, but I haven't done it. (Mostly because if there is a snake, and you've done the course, you're the one who picks it up. You do get to use a 'snake picker upper' thing though. It's not bare hands.